1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solar roofing system. More particularly, this invention relates to a solar roofing system comprising a series of standard metal roofing panels adapted to work as a solar heat exchange system as well as provide a roof against the elements. The solar roofing system discharges the captured heat into the interior of the building.
The solar roofing system has a preferred embodiment utilizing a air-to-liquid heat exchange system and an alternate embodiment using air-to-air. The air-to-liquid system is preferred for residential settings and the air-to-air system is intended to work in drying of agricultural products. The structure of the panels makes them highly suitable for the direct use of freon or other refrigerants, for solar thermal electrical applications.
The economic viability of this invention is so unique as to make solar absorption air conditioning, refrigeration, and ice making a practical use of the invention. Though absorption cooling is not nearly as efficient as mechanical cooling systems, the direct use of heat rather than electricity in producing the cooling effect finally gives promise of inexpensive commercial and residential cooling systems using the abundant and inexpensive heat source of the new panels.
2. Description of the Background Art
Throughout the United States steps are being taken to improve solar panels which are used to collect the suns rays. Typically, the solar panels collect the suns rays and transfer the solar energy to a storage reservoir for subsequent discharge of the solar energy for heating a residence or drying agricultural products.
Most previous solar panels, with the exception of small panels intended solely for the production of domestic hot water, have been made up from a number of different materials and have to be fabricated on the jobsite in order to obtain a satisfactory interface with the other building components, particularly the roofing components. This has tended to increase the cost of the solar panels and has deterred many people from installing a solar heating system because of the extremely high initial investment. This is particularly true when one looks at the cost of a solar heating system in relation to the alternative cost of a conventional heating system to heat a home.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,384 issued to Proven discloses a solar panel comprising a closed body of thermally insulated material and a transparent surface to form a solar heat exchange area.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,594,232 issued to Stockstill discloses a solar heat exchanger with integrated serpentine tubing, a glass cover and means to connect a plurality of modules. U.S. Pat. No. 2,594,232 discloses a heater and exchanger which make up an additional building component, not part of the integral part of the roofing system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,728 issued to Tomchak discloses a solar panel with integrated serpentine tubing and means to connect a plurality of modules.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,095 issued to Grundmann, et al discloses a solar panel with integrated serpentine tubing and the ability to use air or water as a heat exchange medium.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,037 issued to Isaacson discloses a solar panel with a glass cover and means to connect a plurality of modules and the ability to use either air or liquid as a solar heat exchange medium. The modular units are portable and as such, can not be considered a part of a structural building component such as a roof.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,858 issued to Skillman discloses a solar energy collecting apparatus that utilizes air only as the heat exchange medium. The apparatus is comprised of a plurality of a sheet metal roofing panels whose principle role is to provide a weather membrane for the underlying building. U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,858 teaches away from the use of standard factory assembled solar roofing panels. Contrariwise, the invention discloses the use of a jobsite fabricated roofing panel using both forming and rolling machinery that is commonly available in the roofing industry.
Prior patents have only provided a partial solution to the general overall problem of providing a factory assembled, low cost solar roofing panel that is economic for a homeowner when constructing a dwelling.
Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide a solar roofing panel that is made from a standard metal roofing panel of the standing "T" type, or other common types.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a solar roofing panel that is easily maintainable in the field for repairing broken glass sheets or maintaining the tubular connections to the distribution manifold and the collection header.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a solar roofing panel that will be a building component substitute for a standard metal roof panel.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a solar roofing panel that can be fabricated in a manufacturing facility to insure close manufacturing tolerances and achieve the economies of cost inherent in a factory setting, as opposed to fabricating a solar roofing panel on the jobsite where costs are highly variable.
It is a further object of the invention to provide the solar roofing panel with the hardware to allow the collectors to be readily accessed for maintenance of the solar heat exchange zone.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a solar roofing panel that the metal roofing industry trades can readily install in a residential setting without additional training of the roofing mechanics.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure.
Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.